Stylianos Papanastasiou

Stylianos graduated in 2016 with a masters degree in Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy Systems from the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. He is currently a Project Engineer at Northern Powergrid.

Postgraduate life at Leeds

Having already acquired his undergradudate degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering in Greece, Stylianos was looking for his next study destination to pursue his dream of furthering his understanding in renewables. Stylianos said, “The University of Leeds became the prime candidate because it is a very highly respected university with good facilities. In terms of the course itself, the Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy Systems MSc programme is accredited by the by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) which is very important as it shows that the course meets the quality standards established by the profession.”

The University of Leeds was the prime candidate for me because it is a very highly respected university with good facilities

“The city of Leeds itself also has a lot to offer. It is in the middle of an unofficial network of cities (including Manchester, Sheffield and York), offering great opportunities, both for job seeking and for recreational activities. Moreover, the University is in the city, allowing students to enjoy all the amenities all within walking distance.

Studying my course allowed me to meet and interact with peers from different background and cultures. I will definitely remember the international global community in the School and the University, as well as the zeal of the academic staff imparting their knowledge to us.”

Studying my course allowed me to meet and interact with peers from different background and cultures.

Masters project

“My masters project was carefully selected with the help of my professor and it entailed the design of a PV convertor that tackles the issue of partial shading. It was a very interesting project and it managed to combined many of the taught topics of the course, while giving me the opportunity to explore new areas of interest. It was also a great learning experience and I am grateful to all the help and guidance I received to complete my project.”

My masters project was carefully selected with the help of my professor and it entailed the design of a PV convertor that tackles the issue of partial shading.

Building a professional career

“Since finishing my studies, I spent a bit of time weighing my options and finally decided to accept the offer to join the Northern Powergrid Graduate Scheme which I have now completed. I have since accepted a full time position working as a Project Engineer for Northern Powergrid, the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) (and soon to be) Distribution System Operator (DSO) of our aea. 

My role entails many duties, which can be summarised as the responsibility to plan, manage and deliver electrical projects of various levels of complexity, including new customer connections to our network, maintenances, repairs, asset replacements and so on. In other words, anything required to keep the lights on!

I am trying to gain more experience every day in my professional working life by enriching my portfoilio, and ultimately, working towards my engineering chartership. Being at Leeds has helped me tremendously to get acquainted with the multicultural environment, which in turn as helped me in my working environment. My experience at Leeds has also taught me to be adaptable so one can be more resillient in any challenges they may face in the future.

My experience at Leeds  has taught me to be adaptable so one can be more resillient in any challenges they may face in the future.

Thanks to Leeds, I have created a wonderful network of friends from across the globe, both professionally and personally and will always cherish my time there.”